The number of cities and towns in Massachusetts that are considered a ‘high risk’ for COVID spread fell further on Thursday, despite a slight increase in new infections last week.
According to the Department of Public Health, there are now 19 communities at high risk for coronavirus transmission.
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Last week, the number of high-risk communities was 28, which has continued the steep decline week-on-week since the peak of the second boom in January.
Here is a list by province:
Bristol County: Fall River, Freetown, New Bedford
Essex County: Haverhill, Lawrence, Lynn, Methuen, Peabody
Hampden County: Chicopee, Ludlow, Springfield
Hampshire County: Hadley
Norfolk County: Plainville, Weymouth
Plymouth County: West bridgewater
Worcester County: Blackstone, Clinton, Sterling, Sutton
Barnstable, Berkshire, Dukes, Franklin, Middlesex, Nantucket and Suffolk had no cities or towns in the so-called red zone. Statistics show that the number of residents living in a high-risk community fell by 32.5% this week.
Risk designations – which are colored, gray, green, yellow and red based on infection levels – are determined using several new statistics for three population categories: communities with a population of less than 10,000; between 10,000 and 50,000; and more than 50,000.
For communities with less than 10,000 inhabitants, ‘gray’ is awarded if there are ten cases; “Green” if there are 15 cases; “Yellow” if there are up to 25 cases; and “red” if there are more than 25 cases.
For communities with between 10,000 and 50,000 inhabitants, ‘gray’ is awarded if there are ten cases or less; “Green” if there are less than 10 average cases per 100,000 inhabitants and more than 10 cases; “Yellow” if there are 10 or more cases per 100,000 inhabitants or a test positivity rate of 5% or more; and “red” if there are 10 or more cases per 100,000 inhabitants and a test positivity rate of 5% or more.
And for communities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, ‘gray’ will be awarded if there are a total of 15 cases; “Green” if there are less than 10 average cases per 100,000 inhabitants and more than 15 cases; “Yellow” if there are 10 or more cases per 100,000 inhabitants or a test positivity rate of 4% or more; and “red” if there are 10 or more cases per 100,000 inhabitants and a test positivity rate of 4% or more.
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